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Lake Columbia stumps to be removed

The above rig will be used to cut stumps located in Lake Columbia’s ‘Stump Bay’, as well as other areas of the lake.

By Mike CoughlinReporterExponent/Irish Hills Live

Members of the Lake Columbia Property Owners Association Board of Directors recently approved plans to address the issue of removing old tree stumps in Lake Columbia – notably on the east end of the lake known as Stump Bay.

Timing for removing the stumps has not yet been finalized, though it is expected to start in April.

The board has contracted with Stumpbusters Underwater Stump Removal Service (www.stumpboat.com), a company located in Madison, Georgia to clear the lake. The issue was presented to the home owners in the form of a survey, and was approved by a majority of the votes. An initial budget of $18,500 has been established for the management of 75 stumps in the lake, with some additional costs expected to transport the stumps from the shoreline to their final destination.

While the 62-plus acres of Stump Bay will be the main focus, Stumpbusters will continue working on stumps in other locations on the lake until the contractual 75 are completed.

Stumpbusters designed and built a special boat for the job of fixing stump problems on lakes and rivers.

The process involves cutting the stump off as low as possible with a boat-mounted saw. The saw is limited in how far it can reach below the water surface. Per their website, “the roots will remain. What we remove is the butt of the tree to the lake bottom, without disturbing the bottom of the lake.”

This process limits any disturbance to the bottom silt layer and helps maintain a healthy environment for fish.

Locating the stumps is usually done by manually looking for them from the boat or, in some cases, jumping in the lake and feeling for them with various tools on the boat. Stumpbuster owner Mark Johnson said that the company will make short order of the stumps.

“I don’t anticipate the job taking very long,” he said. “We typically cut 100 or more in a day, and have exceeded 200.”